By George, a dam fine Sprint finish to the Aus 3-Days

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Last Updated: Tuesday, 13 June 2017 19:25

The Australian 3-days carnival finished on a spectacular note at CSU Wagga on Monday, with a Sprint event mixing rock with campus to throughly test brains and brawn for a third straight day.

And in the washup, it was Big Foot junior Alastair George with arguably the best NSW result of the long weekend - third overall in the junior men's elite class. Congratulations Al - we hope that JWOC selection lies in the near future.

Now, how could a seemingly urban sprint possibly have tricky rock? Easy - thanks to a new map extension on a steep hill to the west. After a short, sharp climb to the start (past a few curious kangaroos), runners were confronted with half a dozen controls in a small hilly area littered with boulders.

As usual, the race won't be won here but can certainly be lost. (Your tired scribe blew 4 minutes overshooting two controls on Course 5, but we digress!) From there it was a careful drop to the western edge of the built-up area.

Nothing about the campus section looks particularly difficult - until closer inspection reveals pedestrian overbridges, impassable building corners and a plethora of uncrossable garden beds.

Decision making at speed, and speedy decision making. An error of mere seconds can mean the difference between first place and merely second... or further down the results list.

The course climax provided a wonderful spectacle - runners converged from two or three directions on the last control (a sculpture, pictured top) in the corner of a large pond with two small bridges for access, then a 50m dash to the finish.

Innovative course planning by SHOO's Melbourne-based NSW Stinger Dave Meyer and a great venue for the presentations, for which we had the pleasure of the company of Wagga Deputy Mayor Dallas Tout. 

Our list of thank yous is extensive: organising clubs Waggaroos, Southern Highlands, Illawarra Kareelah, Uringa; carnival organiser Ron Pallas; all our course setters and controllers; and the generous landowners.

The Oceania and World Masters champs in New Zealand in April forced OA to move this carnival from its usual Easter date, so we are grateful to the 550+ participants who made the effort to enjoy three quality maps in glorious winter sunshine.

You can find all the results on Eventor, splits on Winsplits and Attackpoint, and courses on Routegadget.